Webwise: Reach for the stars from home base

You don’t have to strap yourself into a rocket to explore space. The web offers thrilling alternatives

It's the ultimate adventure and the final frontier, a place that has fascinated humankind ever since early man craned his head up at the night sky and wondered what was out there.

But while the exploits of Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man in space, gave us a first glimpse of space exploration, the thrill of bursting through the Earth's atmosphere has still only been experienced by a handful of pioneers. Aside from them, we've left it to science fiction films to fill in the blanks with giant black holes, acid-blooded aliens and Princess Leia in a revealing golden two-piece.

Space travel for mega-rich tourists is supposedly on the way but fortunately you don't have to pay Richard Branson £100,000 to discover more about the cosmos. Online you can find virtual tours of the planets, including Mars taken by Mars Explorer, watch live footage